The League of Legends dev team has offered an update on Skarner’s long-awaited visual and gameplay upgrade (VGU)
Last year, Skarner won the VGU voting and will be the next champion to get a full VGU. However, little information on the rework is currently accessible. But he’ll soon get newer crystal armor and a sharper claw.
Riot’s champion product manager Lexi Gao recently said in a Dev video earlier today that the teams are currently looking into ways to expand his scorpion fantasy.
“The Skarner VGU team has started exploring ways to dial up his scorpion fantasy,”
“At this phase, we’re leaving no arthropod-hiding stone unturned to find exciting themes, kits, and stories.”
The dev team stated last year that while they attempted to increase Skarner’s prominence in the past with a series of mini-updates, they were never actually enough to move the needle in either direction. At this point, only a full-fledged overhaul will propel Skarner back to the meta.
Skarner was initially intended based on 3 thematics after he won the VGU vote. The first thematic attempted attempt to keep his concept while adding aesthetic changes to liven up the model. They tried out several models in attempt to shatter his traditional scorpion image.
The second thematic would aim to drastically modify his lore, maybe transforming him into an old Shurima empire defender. The last one would give him some incredible Hextech augments that were connected to him during the Piltover testing.
In 2023, Riot will go all-in on reworks. Jax, Ahri, Rell, Neeko, and Aurelion Sol are already on the table for reworks and changes in the near future. With At the current tempo, players should expect at least a dozen champions to undergo reworks and mid-scope changes this season.
Skarner’s full rework has yet to be given a release date, but it should be expected in 2023, especially since Riot has already shared details and updates on its progress.